


not in love

by Jules1398



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: 5+1 Things, Exy, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:36:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jules1398/pseuds/Jules1398
Summary: 5 times Andrew didn't tell Neil that he loved him and one time he did.





	not in love

**Author's Note:**

> In which I choose to ignore some of the extra content.  
> Check out my [blog](http://crackandcanonships.tumblr.com/).

1.

Andrew couldn’t bear to see Neil like this. He was hurting, inside and out, and there wasn’t a single fucking thing that he could do about it. What’s more, he was going to leave. Neil was to be enrolled in the Witness Protection program by the fucking pig cops that had handcuffed Andrew to Coach Wymack just earlier that day.

He didn’t know what was worse: knowing that he’d never see Neil again or knowing that he probably wouldn’t be much safer in Witness Protection.

Those cops were not going to take Neil away. Andrew wasn’t going to allow that to happen. They would figure out a way just like they always had. If Neil was going to leave, he would have run a long time ago. He had decided to stay and there was nothing that the FBI could do to tear him away from Andrew. If they wanted to take Neil away then they were going to have to rip him from his cold dead hands.

Andrew brought his hands up to the collar of Neil’s sweatshirt and hooked his fingers inside of it. He softly pulled on it, not so much where it would hurt Neil with all of his injuries, but enough where the other boy would still feel it. Just enough for Neil to know that Andrew was there with him. That he wasn’t going to leave his side.

A small part of Andrew, the part that he chose not to acknowledge, wanted to tell Neil the words that he didn’t even let himself think. _I love you_ was a terrifying thing. It gave others the power of destruction. Andrew knew that he could trust Neil, but he still was afraid. There was a time in which he had loved Cass like she was his own mother (not that he had ever loved his biological mother) and she had told him that she loved him as a son, yet she allowed him to suffer and refused to believe what Drake was doing to him. You were supposed to love your family, but family was a fucking joke sold to the public by greeting card companies and amusement parks that were just trying to make more cash.

Andrew decided to say it in a different way. He looked into Neil’s bright blue eyes and spoke with honesty, in English so that everybody in the room could hear. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

The others seemed to perk up in agreement, so Andrew continued. “You’re staying with us. If they try to take you away, they will lose.”

* * *

2.

The Foxes had won the championship and, in all honesty, Andrew felt kind of good about it. Sure, he didn’t really give a fuck how their team did, but it was nice to see Riko lose. It was about time that the brat was put into his place.

Neil seemed dead on his feet from working so hard during the game, yet he still found the energy to open his fucking mouth.

The auburn haired boy looked toward Riko and said, “I’d ask you how it feels, but I guess you’ve always known what it’s like to be second, you worthless piece of shit.”

That boy was a fucking idiot. Sure, Riko deserved it, but there was a time to shut the fuck up, and Neil never seemed to be able to tell quite when that was.

Riko turned to stare at Neil, stunned, until his expression turned dark and furious. Andrew could see the violence in his eyes. He was going to swing his racquet at Neil. He was intended to hurt him. Or, worse, kill him.

Andrew wasn’t going to let Riko cause Neil any harm. He couldn’t say it, but he liked the stupid fuck. A sappy motherfucker like Nicky might even call it love or some shit.

He swung his own, much heavier racquet down onto Riko’s arm, completely shattering it. He wasn’t going to be playing again, unless he decided to switch to his less dominant hand. And, for some reason, Riko never seemed as dedicated to the sport as Kevin was.

He stared at Riko, emotionless, and placed his racquet in front of Neil so that the other boy couldn’t possibly touch him.

Riko ran across the field as the other Foxes started swarming in. Andrew had wanted to say something to Neil, but there was too many people now.

Besides, he had forgotten what he was going to say. It was going to have to wait for another time.

* * *

3.

The new striker was a dick. Jack took every chance he got to make some stupid fucking comment about Neil’s scars or his past. He even had the balls to call him Nathaniel.

Andrew had wanted to rough the kid up a little, but Neil said that he would handle it, so Andrew was going to have to let him deal with it by himself, despite the fact that he had thought of plenty of good places to bury Jack’s body around campus.

He acted like he didn’t care either way, but nobody was allowed to talk to Neil like Jack did. Him and another new recruit, Sheena, endlessly gave him shit for anything and everything. Sure, Neil wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t deserve so much crap. He was still their vice captain, though Andrew wasn’t one who could say much about insubordination.

Kevin absolutely raved about the kid’s talent and told Neil that it was _his fault_ since he didn’t get Jack’s behavior in-line sooner. That he needed to control his team better. He didn’t seem to understand that Jack wasn’t some misbehaving child; he was a complete douchebag.

One day at practice, Jack yet again made some stupid fucking comment about Neil’s dad. Like usual, he had said it so that Wymack wouldn’t be able to hear it and he wouldn’t get in trouble.

This time, however, Neil threw his racquet on the ground and gripped his collar tightly before drawing his arm back and driving his fist into the younger boy’s nose.

Jack fell back in surprise, cupping his bleeding nose in his hands. He wasn’t expecting Neil to react to his comments, as he had always ignored them in the past, allowing Jack to get away with his bullshit.

He clambered up onto his feet to fight back, but Matt and Allison held him back, to prevent any further violence. Coach Wymack ran onto the field in outrage yelling, “What the fuck, Josten?”

Neil just smiled and crossed his arms, happy to have finally given Jack exactly what he deserved.

Andrew smirked. He was proud of Neil. He had handled it just like he said that he would in the only way he knew how.

His heart surged a bit in his chest but he ignored it. Sure, Andrew _probably_ loved Neil, but he couldn’t say so now, while he was arguing with the coach. Not that he was ready to say it anyway.

* * *

4.

Andrew sat in the waiting room alone, head in his hands. Bee was in the hospital. She had probably had a heart attack and Andrew had no idea whether or not she was going to survive.

Apparently Wymack had found out first, but decided not to share it with him, since he was afraid of how he would react. Instead, Andrew had received a call from Abby and she told him what happened.

Bee was walking out of her office to go home at the end of the night when she collapsed, clutching her chest, in the hallway in Reddin. Luckily, the place was filled with countless school doctors and med students, so she was quickly rushed to the hospital so that she could get the care that she needed.

But now Andrew was sitting there waiting, and he had no idea what was happening. He had left the dorms wordlessly, so nobody else knew what was going on. It didn’t really matter, though. Andrew was used to being alone.

He didn’t  know what they were allowed to tell him about Bee, seeing as they were not related, but he did know that she still was not awake.

Legal or not, the nurse had told him that she would keep him updated on that. Maybe she was allowed to or maybe she was just being a decent person. Or maybe she was afraid of him. Regardless, Andrew would know when she woke up and he had been there for two hours and had heard nothing.

Then, Neil showed up. He walked in and sat next to Andrew without a single word.

“Why are you here?” Andrew huffed out.

Neil shrugged. “I figured that you probably shouldn’t be alone right now. I mean, who knows what violent actions you’ll take,” he joked.

“How did you find out where I was?” he asked. “I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.”

“You were gone randomly for two hours,” the other boy pointed out. “I was worried so I asked around. Coach told me.”

“So you came here to sit around and feel bad for me. I know that you aren’t here for Bee, seeing as you don’t even like her.”

He shook his head. “I came here because, as much as you hate to admit it, you need somebody right now. Andrew, you need me.”

Andrew rolled his eyes and forced his expression to remain neutral. “I don’t need anybody. Especially not someone that I hate as much as you.”

Neil bumped their knees together. “Okay, fine. You don’t need me. I’m still here for you, though.”

“Thank you,” Andrew replied, because he was truly grateful to have Neil around. He didn’t usually let himself express gratitude, but today was an exception. Today, he was allowed to feel something.

Andrew loved Neil so much, but he figured that the words “thank you” were good enough for now.

* * *

 

5.

Neil burst into his and Andrew’s apartment (yes, it was theirs even though they  lived separately during the most of the year) and pressed a kiss to his lips before plopping down next to him on the couch, a huge smile on his face.

“What the fuck was that for?” Andrew asked, even though he enjoyed the kisses and seeing Neil smile.

“I have a team,” Neil announced excitedly.

“Oh?” he replied.

He nodded.

“Lucky me,” Andrew scoffed. “I get to hear you rave about exy for the rest of my miserable life.”

Neil punched him in the arm. “I have a very nice contract with the LA Queens now and I know, deep deep down, that a small part of you is happy for me.”

“I’m happy that you’ll finally be making us some money,” Andrew retorted. “I’m tired of being the only moneymaker in this-”

“This relationship?” he suggested.

Andrew snorted. “Try again!”

“This partnership,” Neil tried softly, moving toward Andrew and pressing a kiss to the side of his neck.

“This apartment,” Andrew clarified.

Neil shoved him. “You’re no fun.”

“But you already knew this,” he pointed out. “Don’t forget that I hate you.”

Neil’s hand caressed his cheek. “Come on, Andrew. Celebrate with me. I’ve finally gotten to the pros.”

Andrew pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Fuck exy,” he whispered.

Neil let out a little laugh at that. “Or you can fuck me instead.”

Andrew nodded. “I guess we’ll do that then. After all, there isn’t anything better to do.”

“There isn’t anything better than this.”

Neil was right. There was nothing better. It was him and Neil, together, and they were in love.

* * *

 +1

Andrew was stuck at home, bored out of his mind, while Neil went to work and played exy on the field that they should have been playing together on. But he had fallen the wrong way at practice last week and now he had a fucking sprained wrist that he was ordered to rest.

He didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t turn on the game, since he had absolutely no desire to watch exy even though he liked what those shorts did to Neil’s ass.

Instead he just wandered their apartment, which was tiny considering how much money they could have been spending on it. (They bought what they needed and not much more.) He had smoked and fed the cats. Hell, he had even attempted to _play_ with the cats until he remembered that they were little assholes that weren’t worthy of his attention.

He was sitting upside down on the couch and staring at the wall when he heard the sound of keys right outside the door. He shifted around and made himself look as bored as he felt, as if he had done nothing all day, which wasn’t that far off from the truth.

Neil came in with plastic bags hanging from his arms. “Hey,” he greeted. “How’s it going?”

Andrew shrugged. “Fine, I guess. That is, until you came home.”

He smiled and rolled his eyes as he walked toward the kitchen. “I know you missed me. You were stuck here alone all day with nothing to do.”

“There was plenty to do,” Andrew lied.

“Like what?” Neil called from the kitchen. “Surely not going grocery shopping since I asked you to do that while I was gone and you said no.”

“I’m sure you enjoyed the trip to the grocery store,” he replied. “Since you love being the center of attention. Being a famous athlete in Whole Foods probably draws a lot of eyes.”

Neil popped his head out of the kitchen doorway. “Yeah, I sure love it when middle aged ladies stare at my ass and kids ask why my face looks so fucked up.”

“I mean, they aren’t wrong.”

He walked back into the room with something behind his back. “The ladies or the kids?”

Andrew shrugged in response and Neil sat next to him, handing him what was in his hands.

“I got you this at the store,” he said, as Andrew stared at the mint-chocolate chip ice cream that he had given him with a spoon.

Andrew opened the carton of ice cream and turned toward Neil.

“I fucking love you.”


End file.
